BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – UAB head football coach Garrick McGee says his team is ready for Conference USA action this week, when the Blazers return to Legion Field on Saturday for a 2 p.m. kickoff against Florida Atlantic.

McGee spoke with media members during Monday's media luncheon and previewed Saturday's upcoming contest with the Owls.

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On depth in the secondary…“We still have really good players. We are able to play Greg Maclin, Jordan Petty and Nick Jackson. We are really fortunate to have landed the recruits that we have. All of these guys can play.”

On sophomore WR Darius Powell…“He has done a really good job for us. He is really good with the ball in his hands. He came in the other day and made a good play for us. We are really happy to have him on our team.”

On the quarterback play against Vanderbilt…“They didn’t see much that was going on. We have really good practice sessions, but practices and the games are different. You have to translate what happens on the practice field into the games. They didn’t see as many things as I expected them to see. I have to do a better job of teaching them the overall aspect of playing the position.”

On the non-conference schedule…“It’s good to test yourself and see how tough you really are. We have had a physical non-conference schedule. We pride ourselves on being the team in Conference USA that’s not going to spread the offense out. We want to play traditional, hard-nosed and tough football.”

On Florida Atlantic…“They are a lot like us. (Head coach) Carl (Pelini) is in his second year there. They went 3-9 last year. They played a tough opening game against Miami and have played three tough conference games. They are like a lot of teams in our conference.”

On FAU’s offense…“Their quarterbacks are different than most Conference USA quarterbacks. Their starter is big, can run and throw, and reminds me a lot of Darrell Hackney when he played at UAB. Their other quarterback that played against Rice is smaller but he is explosive and can throw the ball really hard.”

On junior K Ty Long…“Ty is a competitor. Sometimes early in the season you need a setback or two to get your focus back and go back to your details. We never at all worry about his emotional state because he’s not the average kicker. He’s a real football player. I expect him to continue to do well going forward.”

On scoring in the red zone…“Touchdowns are a lot better than field goals. You have to score touchdowns to win games. You can stay in games with field goals and good defense, but to win games you have to score touchdowns. We couldn’t catch a rhythm on offense and made a lot of mistakes. I think we will be better this weekend. I don’t worry about our offense.”